


bitter coffee and sweet love

by rainbwlouis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Barista Harry, Coffee Shops, Cute Louis Tomlinson, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, Shy Louis Tomlinson, wrote this while procrastinating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29294076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbwlouis/pseuds/rainbwlouis
Summary: “Hello! Welcome to The Busy Bean! Are you new?” Louis blinked in surprise at the voice and looked around to find the source. “Behind you,” The person tapped his shoulder once and he whirled around at the unexpected touch.“Hey! Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to interrupt a person—” His rant stopped when he finally faced them. It was a guy—Harry Styles, according to his small black name tag. His eyes widened in embarrassment.or, a short and sweet coffee shop au nobody asked for
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	bitter coffee and sweet love

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is super short, but this is my very first work that I’m sharing! Please be kind! Kudos and comments do encourage me! I’m not sure if I have any more confidence in posting any other works, but we’ll see. This is just a short drabble I wrote while procrastinating my term paper. Enjoy!
> 
> Thank you Ris (falsegoodnight), Andy (outropeace), and Ellen (frenchkiss)! ily lots guys

Louis Tomlinson’s lips pursed in discomfort when the frigid air bit into his sensitive cheeks as he exited the train. He stopped to pull his coat tighter around himself after he noticed his teeth chattering. People around him grunted in annoyance, pushing past him to resume their hurried walking. Louis hastily made his way into the nearest building that he could find to warm himself up again.

The heady scent of brewed coffee and sweet chocolate assaulted his nose, making him flick his head up in surprise. His eyes flitted around the place until he found myself reading their giant sign.  _ Welcome to The Busy Bean. _ He suppressed a smile and observed the homey shop more closely. The lights were dimmed and soft music was playing in the background. A cheerful voice abruptly snapped him out of his inner monologue. 

“Hello! Welcome to The Busy Bean! Are you new?” Louis blinked in surprise at the voice and looked around to find the source. “Behind you,” The person tapped his shoulder once and he whirled around at the unexpected touch. 

“Hey! Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to interrupt a person—” His rant stopped when he finally faced them. It was a guy—Harry Styles, according to his small black name tag. His eyes widened in embarrassment. 

“I didn’t mean to intrude, but you’ve been blocking our entrance for a couple minutes and I thought maybe you needed help.” He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks even faster now, 

“S-sorry!” He squeaked out and moved toward one of the tall tables. Harry eyed him carefully, which made Louis feel even more self-conscious of his appearance. So much for wind blown hair, he thought. 

“You look a little red, do you want to sit down? You can take off your clothes and stuff.” He gestured to Louis’ huge coat and then froze. “Like, your coat and scarf, not all of your clothes… obviously. What coffee do you prefer, it's on me,” Harry quickly changed the subject. Louis refused to embarrass myself further in front of a cute boy. “Anything is okay with me,” He assured. Harry quickly retreated to fetch a drink. Louis glanced back and let out a big breath he didn’t know he was holding, letting his shoulders slump. He muttered curses under his breath, “Stupid.” He laid his head down, resisting the urge to bang it down, but shot up when he heard a cup being placed down. 

“Hey! Since I got to choose, I brought one of my favorite drinks. It’s the special peppermint mocha. I hope you like it.” He gave a quick smile and turned away. Louis let himself droop in disappointment, but just as quickly, perked up again when Harry returned. “Sorry, I didn’t want to spill your drink, so I thought to carry mine on a separate trip.” Louis’ mouth started talking without him realizing, 

“That’s not very effective for a barista.” Harry stiffened in surprise and Louis was quick to start rambling, “Not that you’re bad at your job, I bet you’re great! I mean, you seem nice and friendly—” Harry’s eyes shone with barely concealed mirth and decided to show Louis a little mercy. 

“No, I suppose you’re right. I’m pretty slow, but people tell me I’m good at making drinks, at least. Give yours a try, maybe they were lying to me.” Louis looked down at his cup and back at him. He slowly sipped at the mocha and tried not to wince. He hated coffee and all things bitter. 

“It’s great!” Louis assured. Apparently he wasn’t fooling anyone, Harry included.

“You,” He jerked an accusing finger at him, “are a terrible liar.” Louis’ eyes slitted in offense. 

“I am not! You wouldn’t even know, I haven’t lied to you!” 

“Another lie,” he insisted. “You don’t even  _ like _ coffee!” He accused the smaller boy. “Who comes into a coffee shop when they don’t even like coffee!” 

“No, I definitely  _ do _ like coffee. In fact—” Louis shot up and gulped the whole drink down until there was nothing left. “Ha!” He crowed, forgetting all about his nerves from the cute boy. Harry’s eyebrows went up looking impressed and shocked at the same time.

“I was going to say, you should’ve let me know. I would’ve gotten you a baked good instead.” He smirked in triumph.

“ _ Oh _ ,” Louis was suddenly hyper-aware that he was still standing up, probably making a huge ruckus with a boy he just met.” He hurriedly sat down, landing with a  _ whump _ in his chair. 

“Oh come on! You can’t get nervous after you pulled that stunt! Are you normally this competitive?” He teased.

Louis resolutely did  _ not _ look up at him. His face flamed up, and he probably looked borderline like an actual tomato. He wanted to sink into the floor, or maybe disappear, that worked too. Louis started putting on his coat and scarf, trying to make a quick escape toward the door.

“Hey,” Harry caught the boy’s arm as he was a foot from the door. His voice changed from teasing to a softer tone that Louis couldn’t put his finger on. He slowly lifted my head, but hid his face under his fringe. “Look, it doesn’t even matter if you like coffee or not, just don’t throw out the cup,” He winked at Louis and released his arm from the iron grip only after he returned the empty styrofoam cup to him. 

“I hope to see you again soon at The Busy Bean!” He waved goodbye with a schrinne smile. Louis waved back and a shy smile graced his lips. After he resumed walking, he glanced down at the cup to inspect it.  _ Call me, maybe we can fight over movies next! —Harry. _ His number was scrawled at the bottom with a sharpie. A laugh blurted from his lips as he looked over his shoulder at The Busy Bean. It was a few blocks away now. Louis shook his head and rushed to his next class. 

  
  
  



End file.
